Gajeel's First Day as a Fairy Tail Mage
by TheOneTheOnlyGajeelRedfox
Summary: Being a Fairy Tail mage is hard work, as Gajeel is about to find out. From having to deal with revenge, Laxus and small children, Gajeel will have his work cut out for him on his very first day. From Gajeel's point of view, and a couple of OCs in there.


**_Hello! As the initial idea for this fanfiction was taken from the manga when Gajeel took his first job, I felt like I had to put in the part about Jet and Droy and Laxus and well you know the rest! Hopefully I've made it interesting to read! (Sorry, it won't happen again!) And of course, all of the plot except that bit is of my own creation! I hope that you enjoy my story!_**

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Fairy Tail. It was different from Phantom. In a lot of ways it was definitely worse, and in a _few _respects, well, it was marginally better. Take, for example, the sheer number of awful flaws in their request board. I mean, look at it! Look at the rubbish they actually expect their wizards to do. "Magical treasure hunt"? Who could take a job with a title like that seriously? Sounds like something for little kiddies… "Save us from this evil monster"? Didn't look any more threatening than a Pekinese. "Magic school"? Teaching kids how to use magic? Child's play, literally. Any idiot could do that. Anyone could teach some kids a few simple magic tricks and get paid handsomely for it. Any wizard with even the tiniest amount of magic power could show kids how it's done. Any old mage you found on the streets could earn some real gold by doing nothing. Any fool could- Actually… Looking cautiously left and right, but trying to maintain his cold and aloof mannerisms, Gajeel snuck forwards to pluck the request from the board, but not before another wizard's slim hand shot out to grab it. Fortunately for Gajeel, he had been in such a hurry to snatch the request that his huge hand had gotten a hold of it first. _Gihi. Too slow, _he thought triumphantly as he surveyed his prize, trying to determine whether or not it was really worth his while. Thirty thousand Jewels wasn't bad, he reasoned to himself, it would keep him going for a couple of weeks until a job that was really fit for Black Steel came his way.

Before he could tuck the little sheet of parchment into his breast pocket, a shrill voice proclaimed hotly,

'Hey! I saw that first!'

Gajeel felt a slight prickle of annoyance – someone was picking a fight with him over a job? – then turned slowly and reluctantly to look behind him. At first, he didn't see anything, but then when he lowered his gaze to look at his job again he noticed a short, blonde girl, staring indignantly at him but keeping half an eye on his reward, checking it out for herself. Ah yes. _Lucy. _The girl with the rich family, yes? Surely she wouldn't need to be doing a job, surely she had plenty of cash already?! His need was greater; he didn't have a house of his own – being forced to stay in Fairy Tail's boy's dormitories – and he had no money for food. Scrap metal was starting to ramp up in price, especially iron, unfortunately. Keeping all this in mind he answered coolly,

'Well I took it first.'

His blunt answer seemed to only antagonise her more, and she questioned him incredulously,

'_Are you sure you can handle the job?!_'

At this comment, Gajeel's back stiffened, pulling himself up to his full height, and he glared at Lucy levelly, a snarl curling up his lips and revealing his sharp teeth.

'I can handle any job that comes my way. Losers weepers, miss bunny girl.'

And without further ado, he grabbed his travelling bag, slung it over his shoulder and promptly left the guild hall.

'That jerk!' Lucy raged, stamping her feet on the floor.

Gajeel didn't care, it was time to show these kids just what he could do. Surveying the request once again for an address or an indication of where he should go, he ambled down the street, following the directions that had been provided on the sheet. He had been walking for only a couple of minutes, completely lost, when he noticed that a couple of mages at the side of the road were openly giving him evil glares. What the hell was their problem? Gajeel squinted and looked a little harder. They looked familiar… It didn't take him long at all to remember where he'd seen them before. He'd attacked them only weeks before and left them bound to a tree as a warning to Fairy Tail. No wonder they were giving him those black looks. Before he could drop his own gaze and continue towards his job, one of them beckoned him and turned, beginning to walk into a clearer space – obviously in anticipation of a fight. Gajeel followed and when the two had reached a suitable battleground, they stopped, standing side-by-side, giving Gajeel looks that could kill. The Iron Dragon Slayer himself simply stuck his hands in his pockets nonchalantly and inquired as to what they wanted of him.

'Why did you guys call me here? I've got a job to do.'

He knew exactly what they wanted; he could smell all the anger and hate that was pouring off them, the thirst for revenge – Gajeel knew that he had this coming but he felt a twinge of guilt all the same.

'Jobs?' the one with the ridiculous hat sneered. 'This coming from the guy who tried to destroy our guild?'

'You could go to any other guild to take missions! Have you no shame?' his equally outrageous companion added heatedly.

Gajeel leaned forwards, a disdainful look etched on his face, an arrogant smile lighting his features.

'You guys really hold a grudge. Just can't let bygones be bygones…'

Just then a tiny, fearful face peeked from behind the tall oak that stood behind their battlefield. Her eyes were alight with fright but also with something that looked strangely like concern.

'Jet, Droy, don't…' she murmured uneasily. 'I'm over that, really.'

But they simply ignored her.

'This is our limit,' growled Jet.

'You're ruining the guild's reputation,' continued Droy bitterly.

Gajeel merely responded with a snort. Jet, already furious, rushed at him fist raised. He slugged Gajeel squarely in the stomach, who didn't even make an attempt to block and only made a grunt when his attack made contact. Droy began to help his partner, throwing the seeds that were required for his Plant Magic onto the ground, which rapidly exploded into action, striking the hardy Iron Dragon Slayer under the jaw. Jet saw his opportunity and gave Gajeel a strong kick to the chest, throwing him backwards several feet, his hands scrabbling the floor to keep him from landing on his back. He was in bad shape now, probably unfit for any job. But it was worth it. The bubbling guilt in Gajeel's stomach lessened slightly as he looked up at the two mages that stood over him.

'Hey… What are you up to?' Jet demanded, as if he was planning something. 'That can't be it for your power.'

As Jet was trying to work out what Gajeel might have up his sleeve, footsteps sounded from behind him and a deep voice questioned the Iron Dragon Slayer tonelessly.

'You being picked on? Huh?'

Jet's and Droy's heads swung in the direction of the speaker, their worst fears confirmed.

'Laxus?' Droy whispered.

But Laxus had already realised who the wizard before him was. As Gajeel shakily pulled himself to his feet, Laxus crossed his arms coldly and fixed him with a stern, calculating glare.

'So… This guy is the punk that turned my guild into a mess?'

No one dared to make a move as Laxus addressed Gajeel directly.

'And that old fart let you join us for some lame old reason?'

Laxus' face twisted into a furious, hate-filled snarl.

'This is why we're looked down upon, damn it!'

The heavens opened up and down from the sky shot a bolt of lightning, striking the Iron Dragon Slayer with massive power, causing him to yell sharply in pain. Jet, Droy and Levy watched in horror, knowing that Laxus was taking this beyond the degree of sensible and there was nothing they could do about it.

'It's all your fault…' rumbled Laxus ominously, and with a furious sweep of his arm, intensified the electrical power to a deadly degree. Jet couldn't take it anymore.

'St-stop! Laxus!' he shouted in the most powerful voice he could muster. 'You're going too far!'

The lightning ceased, but Laxus wasn't listening. He was watching the wizard at his feet writhe with pain, enjoying the vengeance. However, a panic-stricken Jet, Droy and Levy had begun to understand what Gajeel had been doing. _It doesn't matter how strong Laxus is… He should be able to fight back, _Droy considered. But a horrified Levy understood now. _He wanted us to recognise him as _nakama_, so he didn't fight back?_

Despite the fact that he was completely worn out, sprawled on the floor with no hope of defending himself even if he wanted to, Laxus' attacks did not let up. He kicked Gajeel in fury, screaming at him and claiming that it was all his fault that they were being made fun of, that he should just die, and that he, Laxus, would kill anyone who went against Fairy Tail. Team Shadow Gear had really seen enough, Gajeel would die if Laxus did not stop right now.

'Stop! That's enough Laxus!' Jet yelled, his voice coming stronger this time.

Laxus whirled around violently, sending a bolt of lightning from his hand to Jet and howled,

'Shut up! Little riff-raff should be quiet!'

But the bolt had missed Jet completely, heading straight for Levy who squeezed her eyes tightly shut and waited in terror for the lightning to strike. She knew of Laxus' power and she was certain that she would not survive.

'Levy!' her two partners shrieked in alarm.

Levy clenched her eyes tighter and tensed up, ready for the attack to hit. It hadn't hit yet… It was coming right now, she knew it! Five seconds passed before she dared to open her eyes. When she finally opened them just a sliver, she saw a sight that she would not forget in a long time. There, panting heavily and bleeding, was Gajeel Redfox, who had thrown himself in front of Laxus' attack to save Levy, despite being drastically weakened himself.

Jet and Droy could hardly believe their eyes.

'H-he protected Levy?' Droy stuttered incredulously.

Laxus surveyed the scene before him indifferently but Gajeel eyed him angrily, yet he asked in a calm tone, if with gritted teeth,

'Is that enough? I've got work to do.'

And without waiting for an answer, he turned quickly but shakily and limped off, dragging his bag behind him. Levy plucked up her courage to say something, but she could only manage a quiet stammer before Gajeel sharply cut her off.

'Don't worry about me.'

Laxus too, sensing that the action was over, turned to leave as well, fists clenched in anger at the injustice of it all. This was not how his Fairy Tail should be. He hardly heard Jet behind him attempt to say something, striding down the next street before anyone had even noticed that he was gone.

Gajeel himself was feeling somewhat conflicted. On the one hand, he felt a lot about better about being in Fairy Tail now because he'd finally gotten rid of some of the guilt in his own way. On the other hand, he could not believe that someone like Laxus could even be a part of Fairy Tail. He couldn't even believe that a person like Laxus could actually _exist. _But that didn't matter now. Swaying slightly from side-to-side, clothes torn, face bloody, Gajeel observed grimly that he probably did not look very presentable, especially to children. Reaching into his bag and drawing out a thick cloth, he sat down heavily on a bench and rubbed his face clean. Replacing that, he ran his fingers through his hair to replace the stands that had gone haywire. He morphed his arm into an iron beam and evaluated his appearance in it when he had finished. Well, it wasn't perfect, but it would have to do. Finally, he pulled out a second shirt and got changed hurriedly yet exhaustedly in an alleyway just around the corner.

He looked somewhat decent now, and once again he pulled out the little sheet of paper which was becoming quite wrinkled and creased now. Looking at the corner where the address was printed in minuscule letters, his heart almost stopped. The edge where the map of Magnolia and where the directions were printed had been completely singed by lightning. Cursing Laxus to the deepest, darkest, fieriest pits of hell, he wondered how on earthland he was supposed to get to his job now. Looks like his dragon senses were going to have to do the task for him. He sniffed an unharmed part of the parchment, inhaling deeply, trying to find a scent to follow. Near the middle, he found a strong enough smell that he could use to track. Taking a good last whiff, he stuck the paper back in his pocket and raised his head to the sky, trying to find the matching scent. It seemed to be the strongest to the east… Pulling himself to his feet from the park bench, he followed his nose right towards the other end of the town. It was an area he definitely did not recall and so he had to rely completely on his senses to get him there. Eventually, after a whole hour of running all over the place, Gajeel came to a stop in front of a rather large old house, obviously converted into a school, with a large metal sign on the front. The sign featured the silhouettes of a wizard (because of the pointed hat? Stereotypes…) holding hands with two younger children, with the words 'Magic School' emblazoned beneath them. This must be the place then. Suddenly apprehensive – how do you introduce yourself for this kind of job? – Gajeel rapped sharply on the front door and stood back. The door was slowly pulled back to reveal a young woman, who looked to be in her mid-twenties, with medium length blonde hair and grey eyes that seemed to shine brightly despite their colour. She clapped her hands delightedly at the sight of him and grasped his huge hand warmly in her own tiny one.

'Oh, oh, you must be one of Natsu's friends! So pleased to meet you!'

She shook his hand vigorously whilst she said this, smiling widely all the while. Gajeel, thoroughly confused, decided to introduce himself but before he could even get a word out, he found himself being yanked inside the building and down a corridor. Despite her petite stature, she strode down the corridor as powerfully as any man and her grip was more like an iron pincer than a warm, delicate handhold. Even though she was forthright, she seemed very friendly, nattering happily at him whilst they walked. Her name was Phoebe, and she was a teacher at the school. She specialised in Earth Magic (which explained a lot, Gajeel thought) and had worked here for over a year now, after leaving Mermaid Heel two years ago. As her magic was getting rarer and she'd always had a passion for knowledge and learning, her ex-guild master had suggested that she should think about teaching, which she took up straight away, leaving her guild the very next day. The rest Gajeel had missed completely, zoning out at this point. Suddenly, he noticed that the corridor had become very quiet, and they seemed to have stopped moving. He looked up and realised that Phoebe was watching him expectantly. He had no idea what she'd just said, so he just continued to stare at her awkwardly.

'And you are?' she inquired, as if repeating herself.

'Gajeel,' he muttered.

She went quiet at this point, watching him carefully, the smile sliding off her face to be replaced with an innocent but calculating look. Gajeel felt a little self-conscious as she ogled at him for what seemed like hours on end. All of a sudden she hitched the grin back on her face, and resumed pulling him along, chattering excitedly as if nothing had ever happened. As he was led forcefully down to the corridor, Black Steel knew that even he had his work cut out for him.

As they passed the classrooms on their way, Gajeel became aware of the fact that he had no idea where he was actually being led _to. _There seemed to be no end to this hallway, and just as he was wondering whether he dared to ask Phoebe where they were going and risk an onslaught of noise, or to keep quiet, a door came into view. It was made of pale wood, heavily polished to a bright shine and a metal sign on the door proclaimed that this room was the office of the headmistress. Phoebe dragged Gajeel, who was bent over double from the force of her tugging, all the way to the door and slapped him hard on the back, apparently inviting him to go inside. Without looking at her – he didn't enjoy being told what to do – he knocked gently and shouldered the door open.

The office was pleasant and plain – what you'd expect from a headmaster's or headmistress' office really. There was a small whiteboard on the wall informing her of the coming events and pictures on the walls from the students. There were papers strewn all over the place and a small archive and communication lacrima stood on the right of the desk that she sat behind. The headmistress seemed to be quite pleasant and plain herself, a relief from the manic Phoebe. Her hair was rather short and ginger, her features very normal and her mannerisms very gentle and quiet. Gajeel wasn't sure whether it was the headmistress who was quiet, or whether he had been around Phoebe so long that everyone else seemed to be the shyest people on earthland. The headmistress gestured for him to sit down, and he obediently grabbed a chair and sat facing her, wondering what was going on.

'You must be one of the Fairy Tail wizards, I trust that you've come here to take on our job request?'

Gajeel nodded curtly and waited for her to continue.

'I can see your mark so I know that you are genuine. But I must confess, we often have your pink-haired companion turn up for this job. Is he well?'

So Salamander takes this job? He seems like the kind that would. Well, the kids were going to get a nasty shock when he turned up in their class usually taught by a pink-haired dragon.

'Salamander is well. He's just tired and I managed to get to this job first.'

'Wonderful. Always good to show some enthusiasm.' She smiled. 'I assume that you've never done a job like this, so I should explain how we like to do things. Ah, I did forget to ask, what kind of magic do you use?'

Gajeel shuffled his feet and replied with 'Iron Magic. Iron Dragon Slaying Magic.'

The headmistress didn't even seem to realise (and if she did, she didn't show it) that by telling her that he was a Dragon Slayer, he'd just claimed that he'd been taught by a dragon.

'Wonderful. Just like your friend Natsu.'

That really touched a nerve. Not only had she directly compared him to Salamander, and told him that they were the same, she'd also called him Salamander's friend. They were not _"friends"_ by any stretch of the imagination. Fuming slightly, Gajeel responded tersely,

'Yes. So what do I need to do for this job?'

'Well, what Natsu mainly did was teach class 12B, who are nine to ten year olds. To be honest,' she lowered her voice, 'he doesn't teach much – he plays a lot with the kids – but they love him so much that none of us mind.'

The headmistress, again, did not seem to realise that she was talking to a nineteen year old man, who did not have the mental age of a nine year old, was huge and muscular, covered in piercings, had bright red eyes and possibly the most fearsome face in all of Magnolia.

'My magic is quite useful, so I'd probably just get down to teaching.'

Gajeel didn't feel like playing with little kids, he just wanted to show them some magic and leave it at that.

'Wonderful. I see. Well I'm sure the kids will enjoy it.'

She seemed to have finally cottoned on to the fact that he was not as "fun" as Salamander, and seemed quite eager to just let him get on with it. She stood up to shake Gajeel's hand, saying as she did so,

'I'm sorry, I've forgotten to ask for your name as well. I'm Melodia. And you are…?'

'Gajeel,' he murmured in a low voice, grasping her hand loosely and letting go very quickly.

'Wonderful.' Gajeel thought savagely that if she said "wonderful" one more time he might have to strangle something.

'Well class 12B is waiting for you just down the corridor. Your day ends when the children's does, and you'll be with 12B all day. We finish at three o'clock sharp! Good luck.'

He turned on his heel and wrenched the door open as politely as he could – manners were something that Metalicana had neglected to teach him – and strode down the hallway, keeping an eye out for classroom 12B. It didn't take long for him to find the class as it was only half-way down the corridor but instead of striding in straight away he lurked out of sight watching the children, suddenly apprehensive. What if they didn't like him? You know, _really _didn't like him? As in, 'hide under the desks screaming' didn't like him? He'd never dealt with lots of kids before. What would he do then? He wouldn't be able to do his job, and then he wouldn't get his reward and that would render this whole day pointless. And today was important considering it was his first mission as a Fairy Tail wizard, and it would not look good if on his first day he reduced small children to tears. Okay. Smile. They'll like that. He tried to smile, but caught sight of himself in the reflective metal around the door handle. Okay. Don't smile. They'll like that. He reached for the door handle and gradually edged into the room, moving slowly and cautiously like one might do if they didn't want to spook a small animal. He chanced a look at the children. They were still and silent, not even looking at their neighbours, but staring straight at him and not a sound could be heard in the room. He made his way towards the teacher's desk, brushing a few sheets of paper aside to have something to do with his hands, then stayed standing, wondering what to say first. At this moment, the door crashed open denting the wall (which Gajeel saw had many dents and marks there already) and Phoebe the earth mage strolled in, not a care in the world. She waved hugely at Gajeel and grinned massively.

'I see you've all met Gajeel!' she gestured to him. 'He'll be teaching us today because Natsu isn't feeling too well!'

Gajeel couldn't tell if that was good or bad news to the kids – they all just continued to watch him – probably taking in his red eyes, piercings, muscles and just his general fearsome appearance.

'Well Gajeel is a master of Iron Magic! He tells me that he's a Dragon Slayer! Just like Natsu!

Still nothing. _Was this normal child behaviour? _Gajeel pondered.

Unfazed, Phoebe turned to him.

'Show them what you've got Gajeel!' she yelled passionately, punching one fist into the air.

Her shout jerked Gajeel out of his thoughts, and without really thinking about it, he shot his fist into the air, shouting as he did so, '_Testsuryuukon_!' His Iron Dragon's Club smashed squarely through the ceiling, out into the sky beyond, sunlight streaming through the hole that he had clumsily created. Gajeel stood frozen as he came to his senses and realised what he'd done. _Ah_. If anyone were to walk into the classroom right now to see what all the ruckus had been about, they would have found a very strange sight before them. Standing at the front of the classroom in a fighting stance, supporting his right arm, was a rather intimidating Iron Dragon Slayer who was rigid in surprise and uncertainty of how to handle the situation, his right arm a metallic club that had been forced through the ceiling. The children in front of him were gawping at him, whether in awe or fear it was impossible to tell. The class was utterly silent now, Gajeel had gone mute and even Phoebe didn't seem to know what to do. Gajeel dimly noticed that the window which had been left open to hopefully tempt in a breeze was clattering slightly in the wind. All of a sudden, when the silence had reached a painful degree, the class burst into cheers, some children climbing on top of their desks shrieking with excitement, others waving their hands in the air with joy, and a few requesting their favourite attacks.

'Do the Wing Attack! Do the Wing Attack!'

No, no! The Iron Fist!'

'The Roar! DO THE ROAR!'

His Dragon's Roar quickly became the most popular choice amongst the children, and Gajeel – suspecting that this was a regular show – obligingly prepared his breath attack, puffing up his cheeks.

'_Tetsuryuu no…_'

The children fell quiet in anticipation of their favourite Dragon Slayer spell.

'_HOUKOU_!'

The class whooped and yelled with even more enthusiasm as his Iron Dragon's Roar blasted through the breach he'd already made in the school's roof, causing even more damage and making the hole even larger but no one seemed to care. They were all too delighted with Gajeel's magic, putting their own tiny hands around their mouths and trying to roar for themselves, not achieving much but having too much fun to mind at all. Eventually, after everyone had tried roaring for themselves (now realising that it was harder than it looked), they quieted down, got down from the tops of their desks and sat down in their seats, waiting patiently but excitedly for their new tutor to show them some more magic. They watched the Iron Dragon Slayer with attentive eyes as he stood at the front of the room and, at long last, spoke to the class.

'You can't use Dragon Slayer spells unless you've been taught them by a dragon or have dragon lacrima implanted in your body. A Dragon Slayer can't teach them, but I can show you similar spells that you might be able to work.'

He spoke briskly and gruffly, but not unkindly, seeing their faces fall slightly as they realised that they could never be Dragon Slayers like him and Salamander. Apparently, Salamander had never told them that it was impossible, not wanting to dishearten them by dashing their hopes. Despite their initial disappointment, the young wizards were still eager to learn whatever Gajeel had to offer – sitting up straight once again and waiting for instruction.

'But what an Iron Dragon Slayer_ can_ show you-'

He put out his hand as he spoke, his own metallic seal blooming upon his palm. Nearby, odd scraps of metal began to quiver and curl in on themselves, the intense magical power in the room drawing them slowly towards the caster. All of a sudden, all the metal in the room shot towards Gajeel, twisting and writhing and contorting on the flat surface of his hand, forming a beautiful and perfect model of the Fairy Tail mark.

'-is how to make metal bend to a wizard's will,' he finished dramatically, enjoying the looks of awe on the kid's faces. Children were so easy to impress. That was only a display of basic Metal Magic, nothing particularly special. When you got serious with it, you had only to wave a hand and a wall of steel would be constructed to shield you from enemy attack; a simple gesture could shape every scrap of metal in the vicinity into cruelly sharp points which would shoot towards a foe. A wizard's imagination truly was the limit with this kind of magic, and Gajeel himself had thoroughly tested the limits of what was possible and what was not.

'That's amazing!' Phoebe exclaimed, clapping her hands in that ecstatic way that Gajeel was beginning to get used to. 'Do you think that you could teach me too?!'

The rest of the morning passed in a bit of a daze. Gajeel was really starting to enjoy himself now, showing the class exactly how to move their hands and how to concentrate strongly enough to pull the metal towards them. Eventually, after a couple of hours of tutoring, one or two were starting to get it, making the odd pieces of scrap metal around the room shake and tremble feebly. They took real heart from this, trying even harder than ever to get the hang of it. Phoebe of course was thrilled, attempting to help the students to cast the magic but was really causing more trouble than good. This afternoon for example, she was listening to the woes of one of the fire wizards in the class complaining that when Natsu taught Fire Magic, it was easy, but this Metal Magic was too difficult. He demonstrated by cupping his hands morosely and trying to make the metallic end of his pencil jump to his hand, but only succeeding in making it do an exhausted little jump, as if sensing the young wizard's complete lack of enthusiasm. Convincing herself that he only needed a little encouragement, Phoebe waved her arms energetically and her own Earth Magic swirled around her, sweeping away the pencil that he had been trying to work on, the desk that he had been sitting at and every book off the bookshelf behind her for good measure.

'Oops!' she giggled brightly, unperturbed, as the young fire wizard sighed and began to wade his way across the room, squeezing past his fellow classmates to collect his blown-away belongings. The other aspiring wizards of the class seemed to be making much more progress, especially when Phoebe wasn't there to make a mess of their work. A few had even gone red in the face with the force of their willpower. Gajeel listened to some of the mages muttering under their breath, willing the metal to leap into their palms. When they didn't succeed, Gajeel heard many of them grumbling words under their breath that he did not expect children of their age to know. He grinned slightly, amused at their ardent perseverance, and somewhat entertained by these young wizard's extensive vocabulary. By the time that every person in the class had achieved at least something, even the fire wizard that had had some difficulty (and Phoebe hadn't exactly alleviated any of that struggle), the bell rang, signalling the beginning of lunch. Relieved yet slightly disappointed, Gajeel watched the students file out of the room, chatting animatedly amongst themselves and singing of their triumphs of the lesson.

'Did you see me pull that whole pencil towards me? It was pretty much all the way across the classroom!' one of them boasted smugly, obviously very pleased with himself.

'You did not,' said the fire wizard who had been having some trouble with the magic. 'It flopped a bit on the table and then you whacked it across the room.'

'Well what do you know Seluce?!' retorted the little brat. 'You couldn't anything at all! You never do! You can only do that useless Fire Magic that destroys everything, it's rubbish!'

And spinning furiously on his heel, the horrible little mage sprinted off down the corridor to catch up to his friends. Seluce looked down miserably, a mist of tears beginning to cloud his vision. It wasn't fair. Natsu always showed him that Fire Magic was useful, and that mages like him were still needed in their world. It only took one comment like that and his confidence was back to square one. Why hadn't he been born with something useful, rather than a magic that just caused everyone difficulty? He was just a burden. The tears forming in his eyes spilled over onto his cheeks. Phoebe had been watching this whole scene with an uncharacteristically stern expression on her face. She didn't like to see somebody picked on and she liked it even less when it was because of something that was deemed to be a weakness. Fire Magic was incredibly useful, look at Natsu. Sure, he and his guild may destroy more than was necessary but everyone loved them; they were the pride of Magnolia and utterly dependable. As Seluce was making his way slowly and dejectedly towards the lunch hall, Phoebe tapped him on the shoulder and turned him around (a little roughly, true, but for Phoebe she was being exceedingly gentle). Looking him straight in the eyes, she thought of everything she could about Natsu and Fairy Tail. She told him about the wonderful things that they did and the bad mistakes that they made ('Because everybody does Seluce!' she'd reminded him). But even after they'd accidentally destroyed a lot of things ('Even whole towns!' she had exclaimed), they could always make it right. They helped to put things back together again, they apologised sincerely for what they'd done. And despite everything that they do, everybody still adores them, because they know that even if they go a little overboard, Fairy Tail's always there if they ever need them. Seluce wasn't convinced at all, shaking his head and telling Phoebe that he couldn't get into Fairy Tail if he tried; they wouldn't have him. But Phoebe merely grinned and shook her own head. Gajeel himself had been hanging back, hiding around the corner inside the class to watch what was going on. He craned his head forwards to hear what Phoebe was saying.

'Fairy Tail's accepted some wizards that other guild's honestly wouldn't,' she told Seluce. 'Wizards that have even tried to harm them! I'll tell you…' here she lowered her voice to barely a whisper, and Gajeel had to strain to listen and pick up every word. 'You know our new tutor for today, Gajeel? He was actually a member of Phantom Lord before Fairy Tail themselves offered him a place in their guild. And look how much of a great teacher he is. He taught a fire mage Metal Magic!'

Gajeel felt his heart sink at these words. It wasn't exactly top secret information, but he felt angered by the fact the Phoebe would tell someone about his ex-guild without him being there. Especially a child that would most likely tell all their friends! He clenched his fist. This was meant to be his first job and it had been going so well. Hopefully the news about him being in Phantom won't come as too much of a shock to the kid and he'd still treat him normally. But then there was the dilemma of Phoebe. How did she know that he had been a part of Phantom Lord? Again, it wasn't top secret, but it had certainly not been all over the newspapers. The Council had wanted to keep it a quiet affair – dissolving the guild in secret and keeping the discipline of Jose even quieter. Presently, Phoebe re-entered the classroom, completely at ease, not even looking surprised to see the man she had just been talking about right in front of her. Gajeel decided that he needed to question her at least – not just for his benefit but for the safety of all the other guilds. Wow. He was actually concerned about all the other guilds? Well he had no other choice. If Fairy Tail was endangered, he'd have no income and nowhere to live.

'How did you know about Phantom?' he didn't look at her but turned to the whiteboard instead, scrubbing off the spells and techniques written there.

'I hear things,' she simply replied with, climbing up onto the teacher's desk and crossing one leg over the other one.

'Who from?'

'Well, sometimes the Council doesn't have all the answers. Sometimes the most reliable answers come from the people that know what's really going on out there.'

'"Going on out there?" A lot of people know what's "going on out there". What're you getting' at?'

'A lot of people think that they have an idea, but they don't have a clue. Only the Underworld really understand.'

Gajeel froze. Did this mean what he thought it meant?

'Is this your way of trying to tell me that you're a dark guilder? Huh?' he demanded, bristling. So she could tell anyone who crossed her path that he was an ex-member of Phantom, but she could keep her own guild status a secret, could she?

'Of course! I used to be a member of Eisenwald, well on my way to Grimoire Heart at one point, if you don't mind me bragging. But then of course, I settled for Mermaid Heel as I told you.'

But Gajeel had already begun to react from her first words, his anger drowning out the others. Double standards were something that really got on his nerves faster than a bat out of hell. Not to mention the fact that she was a dark guild wizard. Just because he had been a member of Phantom Lord didn't mean that he liked dark guilds – he hated them just as much as any other official guild, often taking DGC jobs: "dark guild crusher" requests, as he liked to call them. He had sunk into a battle position, with his magic's aura swirling around him before she'd finished her sentence. Phoebe herself had leapt lightly off the table, holding out her hands sideways, her own magic swelling in power. The two stood there in silence, sizing each other up for a while. Gajeel knew that he had a tough opponent before him. She had been well on her way to Grimoire Heart at one point, supposedly. Then the rest of the sentence fell into place. "I _used_ to be" she had said. Not "I am". Gajeel lowered his guard ever so slightly. She may not be in one now but she used to be, and that was enough reason to keep his defence high and his suspicions up.

Just a second after Gajeel had lessened his magical power, Phoebe immediately stopped using magic and left herself unprotected and vulnerable. Gajeel didn't let himself be fooled, however, it could easily be a ruse. But her imploring looks finally persuaded him to stop being so cautious. Sighing very quietly to himself in a resigned sort of way, he stopped building up his magic and straightened up.

'But I didn't like all the assassinations, the thieving, the threatening… so I decided to get out of there and join a better guild,' she continued, trying to act as if their silent face-off had never happened. 'So there's no need for you to be suspicious, honestly.' She was trying to appear nonchalant and peppy, but an underlying tone of desperation laced her speech. Obviously, she had hoped for a better reception when she had told him, perhaps she thought that Phantom was a little dark itself, and he would accept her past much more readily. Maybe she thought it was a talking point, and they could have a conversation starting with their ex-guilds. Maybe she was just so innocent that she'd expect people to look over the same things that she would. Whatever her reasoning, she seemed honest. After all, Fairy Tail had accepted him, even if the members themselves didn't like it. The school must have been in the same mould, letting Phoebe teach here despite her ex-guilds.

'So, Grimoire Heart?' he began, eager to turn to a more pleasant and less awkward topic of conversation.

'Yes! I did actually meet them, you know? They were talking about the possibility of me being in their elite team: the Seven Kin of Purgatory, imagine that!'

'Never heard of that lot. What kind of group were they?'

'They were ever so strange! One of them was a goat, one of them looked like a giant dumpling, and there was one of them that looked pretty normal, except for when you got close and saw his bright red ringed eyes!'

She seemed to have completely forgotten that Gajeel had red eyes himself, but the Iron Dragon Slayer was far too interested in the topic of conversation to even care.

'A… goat?'

Phoebe laughed. 'I know, I don't even know what he was! But he could talk and he had sunglasses and…'

They talked all throughout the lunch break, not touching a morsel of food, too busy wondering aloud at the state of the various dark guilds and what they might be planning right now, at this minute. Jobs also came up, Gajeel mentioned that his next mission was to flush out a whole dark guild independently. Phoebe latched on to this topic at once, really enjoying his plans of how he was going to round them all up and his tactics on how to take them all down by himself. To his surprise, Phoebe was an excellent tactician, and relished talking about battle plans in depth, which was no problem with him. She provided most of conversation, granted, but it was still an enjoyable talk for the both of them. When they had reached the finer points of long-range magic's advantages and disadvantages, the bell rang once more and the class returned to their classroom, unaware of what had transpired earlier.

For this lesson, Phoebe was teaching, educating the class on the uses of Earth Magic in everyday life. The theory was a little dry (Why does school make everything _dull? _Gajeel wondered, nodding off slightly). Somewhat bored, he sat at the back of the classroom, playing with the metal on the table with his magic. To his surprise, he felt a small nudge on his side. He looked quizzically to his left in the direction of the poke, and saw Seluce, mimicking his movements in hopes of mastering Metal Magic. He looked rather strained, probably because of his intense concentration, desperate to learn Gajeel's magic to show everyone else he could do something else,_ anything_ else, other than his Fire Magic. The master of Metal Magic himself silently showed the fire wizard how to hold his hands and Seluce copied, delighted that Gajeel was helping him. The rest of lesson passed in a blur after he began teaching. In no time at all, it was ten minutes to three, and Phoebe was asking the class to pack away. Thankfully, Seluce was really starting to get the gist of Metal Magic now, able to draw pencils and such objects from halfway across the room. It became almost like a game; who could draw the most pencils towards them without getting caught. Gajeel won, of course: Seluce was found out and got a reprimanding smack on the nose from one of his classmates, earning a small chuckle from his surrounding friends. At last – at long, long last – it was time for Gajeel to leave. He was rather sorry to go, but at the same time thankful. It had been a long day and he was ready to collect his reward and leave. Stretching when the bell signalling the end of the day rang, he announced to Phoebe that he was leaving to see the headmistress. The class looked around at him with wide eyes – they didn't want him to leave! Phoebe merely smiled and said goodbye and the class all joined in. As he slid out of the door, she slipped something into his hand.

'Just something that the class did for you!' she said brightly.

Gajeel looked once more at the class and Phoebe, then turned around and shut the door behind him. He looked at what Phoebe had given him before he had left. It was a white envelope, presumably with a card inside. He tucked it into his pocket to read later – he had earnings to collect – and set off for the headmistress' office. Once more in front of that gleaming beech door, Gajeel knocked once and entered. The room was eerily the same as how he had left it this morning, not a scrap of paper disturbed. Melodia sat at her desk, and invited him once more to sit down. The meeting was brief – he had come to collect his money and leave – and soon he had left the office with a small bag of Jewels. As he left the building, all eyes turned to him, many of them students that he had not seen that day, wondering who he was. But he simply ignored that and left through the front door, not even looking behind him.

Starting to walk down the street, he realised once again that he had no idea where he was going, remembering that his map of Magnolia had unfortunately been scorched off his job request. Deciding that his Dragon Slayer senses would have to aid him once more, he lifted his head to the sky and inhaled deeply. He already knew the scent of the Fairy Tail guild, so it didn't take him too long before he was stood in front of the guild's building, request clutched in one hand, his travelling bag in the other. From here, he knew his way to the dorm and he trudged off before anyone could see him standing there. It was evening before he reached what he called his home. Throwing down his travelling bag by the door and kicking off his boots, he grabbed some metal to eat and spent the rest of the evening doing very little. By the time it had turned to night, Gajeel was very much ready to sleep. He climbed into bed, and as he did, he felt something crunch in his clothing. Intrigued, he pulled out the white envelope that Phoebe had given him. Gajeel blinked. He'd completely forgotten about that card. He slit open the envelope open with a finger that he had morphed into a knife, and pulled it out. It was a generic card that just had 'Sorry you're leaving…' written across it. However, what was inside was much more special. Every one of the children had signed their name on it and right in the middle, obviously written by the teacher of the class, were the words 'Good luck on your DGC Gajeel!' Smiling slightly, Gajeel put the card up on his bedside table, turned over, and went to sleep.

* * *

_**I hope that you enjoyed it! I've been sitting on this one for a long old while, so I hope it was enjoyable! Thanks for reading!**_


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